This disclosure relates generally to electronic printing systems, and more particularly to a process and apparatus for substituting an available stock type for use in place of the stock type programmed for a print job when the programmed stock type is unavailable.
In the office-equipment context, such as including copiers and printers, it is generally well known to provide, with each machine, a plurality of selectable trays, each having an identifiable type of print media therein. Different types of media may typically include papers of different sizes or colors, or transparency media. With specific users, however, there may be very specific types of media, such as different types of letterhead or other user-specific forms.
In situations where a plurality of copiers and printers are in communication with various computers through a network, a user originating a print job at a computer will wish to locate a machine having a correct type of media on which to print. Where the selection of available types of media is wide, such as including specific types of letterhead, a user at a computer will wish to have this very specific information about the media in each tray of many machines displayed to him in detail.
In the prior art, however, there are practical constraints on giving a user such a “complete picture”. Very often the data structures and communication among computers and machines is incapable of describing the media in a particular tray beyond a basic, “choose one of the following” description such as “A4.” Also, the fact that machines may be widely distributed geographically, with various machines being under the control of local key operators (who are responsible for maintaining supplies in each tray), creates a danger that a description of the media which is displayed to the user may become incorrect.
The Xerox DocuTech Production Publisher (“Xerox” and “DocuTech” are registered Trademarks of Xerox Corporation, Stamford, Conn.) employs a different system. There, as described more fully in U.S. Pat. No. 5,081,595 to Josefina Moreno et al., and entitled “Paper Supply Tray Status In Electronic Printers” issued on Jan. 14, 1992, the pertinent portions of which are incorporated herein, the user specifies both the stock characteristics (i.e., size, color, type) required for the print job and the characteristics of the paper stock loaded in the paper trays. The system then determines which paper tray, if any, contains the paper stock that matches the job's requirements. If a match is found, the paper stock is used and the job proceeds. If a match is not found, the job is faulted and the operator is instructed to load the proper stock.
While this latter type of printing system has greatly and advantageously expanded the number of paper stock characteristics that may be specified for a print job, it has also brought attention to the situation where the printing system sites are unable to stock all of the many types of paper stock that may be programmed by customers. This inability to stock all the various types of paper stock may be due to lack of room at the site, cost, etc.
Although a print job may, in the event that the paper stock programmed for the job is not available at the site, be turned away, this is not desirable nor normally a good business practice. On the other hand, the site operator might try to re-program the job with a different stock but this could be a time consuming and uneconomical process, particularly where the number of print jobs programmed for unavailable paper stock types is large.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,647,222 to Anthony Digby et al., and entitled “Print Media Supply Identification for a Copier or Printer” issued on Nov. 11, 2003 discloses a digital printer that retains in memory detailed alphanumeric data describing the contents of its paper trays, as well as describing any unusual features thereof. The alphanumeric data is entered at the local user interface of the printer, and is retained at the printer so it can be accessed by a remote user computer as needed. The alphanumeric data can be subject to search techniques by which a large number of printers can be searched for certain print media or other properties.
While this type of printing system has also greatly and advantageously facilitated the user's ability to determine the paper stock characteristics that may be available at the printers to which he or she has access, it is also subject to the limitation that the printing system sites are unable to stock all of the many types of paper stock that may be programmed by customers. If the user cannot access a printer having the paper stock programmed for the job, the print job is turned away.